We Like… I Refuse to Say It!

I refuse to finish the headline. Every headline in the newspapers tomorrow will be some kind of version of “We Like Ike.” He’s only been on the team for a day, and it’s already a cliche. But the truth is, we do like Ike Davis, at least so far. We Mets fans are a fickle bunch.

In his much anticipated major league debut, Davis went 2-for-4 with an RBI. He looked good at the plate and around first base. Davis is just what the Mets needed after suffering through the weak Mike Jacobs-Fernando Tatis combo for the first two weeks of the season.

The Mets say Davis will play every day, which means Tatis will see very little playing time, other than pinch hitting duty in which he will invariably ground into a double play. That was $850,000 well spent.

It was a good game all around. Jon Niese pitched well enough to win, allowing just an unearned run. But he only lasted 5+ innings — he needs to stretch it out. Jason Bay took a step towards ending his slump, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Angel Pagan slammed a two-run tie-breaking home run. And Jenrry Mejia pitched two scoreless innings. Oh yeah, the Mets won 6-1.

One possible troubling development — Jose Reyes asked for the night off. He said he was tired after playing all 20 innings Saturday then playing Sunday night’s game. After missing spring training and most of last year, it’s understandable that Reyes would be tired and not be in his usual shape. But this is a guy who refused to take a day off, fighting with then-new manager Jerry Manuel on the field when Manuel tried to take him out of a game because of a possible injury. I just hope Reyes is all right, and will soon be back to his energetic self. The Mets offense is lackluster at best when Reyes is not on his game.

But all in all, a fine victory, and a much needed great start for Ike Davis.